Coconut Grove is a neighborhood located in the City of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, United States. The area is defined as southeast of US 1, from N. Prospect Ave as the southern border to the intersection of US 1 and Brickell Ave as the northern border. The western border is Le Jeune Rd. and the eastern border is Biscayne Bay. Technically, all of Coconut Grove has a zip code of 33133, which actually extends the area north of US 1 into what is called Silver Bluffs. The region is often referred to simply as "The Grove".
Coconut Grove is known as a thriving artist community. It is world-renowned for its annual art festival. Other events include the King Mango Strut, which began as a parody of the Orange Bowl Parade.
Once an independent city, Coconut Grove was annexed by the city of Miami. The Grove is sometimes known as Miami's Food Court, for its many and varied restaurants. Open air cafes are quite popular as well. Some local favorites include Greenstreets, Tuscany and Mr. Moes, and there are plenty of chain franchises as well, such as Senor Frogs, The Cheesecake Factory and Johnny Rockets. Shopping is also abundant in the Grove, with two large open-air malls, CocoWalk and Streets of Mayfair, and many street shops. The Coconut Grove Playhouse is a very popular destination, and has launched a number of popular plays and musicals. By night, the Grove becomes a center of nightlife frequented by young professionals and students from the University of Miami.
The southern border of Coconut Grove is Biscayne Bay, which lends itself to a boating community. The area features a sailing club (Coconut Grove Sailing Club), a yacht club (Coral Reef Yacht Club) and a marina (Dinner Key Marina). Pan Am’s seaplane operations were based out of Dinner Key, and the Miami City Hall is based in the old Pan Am terminal building.
Coconut Grove is also home to The Kampong, an 8 acre (32,000 m²) tropical garden that forms part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.
Coconut Grove is also the location of the Barnacle state historic site. Built in the late 1800s, the former home of Ralph Middleton is one of the oldest homes in the country and is situated on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The forest surrounding the home is hardwood hammock and is the last of its kind in the area. The unique architecture includes period furniture and wide porches that afford magnificent views.
Villa Vizcaya:
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (10 acres) is a remarkable villa and botanical garden owned by Miami-Dade County, and located at 3251 South Miami Avenue in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida. It is a National Historic Landmark open to the public daily except for Christmas Day; an admission fee is charged.
The estate was built by James Deering, a major figure in Miami's early history and a Vice President of the International Harvester Company. It is a replica of a Venetian villa built facing Biscayne Bay, complete with sculpted gardens, which he used as a winter home from 1916 to the time of his death in 1925. In 1952, Miami-Dade County purchased the estate's buildings, then in decline, for $1 million in revenue bonds and Deering's heirs donated the estate's furnishings and art to the County.
The museum consists of Villa Vizcaya, its grounds, and the museum's collections.
